The key steps in establishing Community Managed

Disaster Risk Reduction in South Omo pastoralist areas

FARM-Africa’s field manual to guide practitioners in Ethiopia

Compiled by FARM-Africa
Acknowledgements

These Guidelines draw on FARM-Africa’s experiences in implementing its Drought Cycle

Management (DCM) Project in Hamer Woreda, in the South Omo Zone of the Southern
Nations Nationalities and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR) of Ethiopia, from July 2006 to June 2009
and its Disaster Risk Reduction Project (2008-2009) in Hamer and Dasenach Woredas,
funded by CORDAID. In these projects, FARM-Africa developed and refined its approach
to community led disaster risk assessment and risk reduction activities. This approach to
disaster management which includes both long term prevention and mitigative actions, in
addition to emergency responses, is being further strengthened in its new Ethiopia
Integrated Pastoralist Project (EIPP) in Hamer Woreda.

The steps described in these Guidelines also draw on the methodologies contained in the
CMDRR Manual produced by CORDAID and IIRR and experiences of Save the Children UK
and other NGOs in implementing CMDRR. The manual is informed by FARM-Africa and
SOS-Sahel’s “The Key Steps in Establishing Participatory Forest Management Manual”.

These Guidelines have been developed by Elanor Jackson, a Consultant working with
FARM-Africa and supported by the EIPP Project Manager Wondwossen Chanyalew, who
was later succeeded by Dawit Daricha and Community Development Officers Wondifraw
Baykeda, Hawulet Mohammed, Zinabu Endris and FARM-Africa Country Director,
Johnathan Napier and Program Manager Getu Woyessa. Consultation was undertaken
with members of the Ebore Community, in particular from the Kebele Early Warning and
Disaster Management Committee and the Hamer Woreda level Expert on Early Warning
and Food Security.

Elanor Jackson, June 2010

FARM-Africa Ethiopia, P.O. Box 5746, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Tel: +251 11 416 9698 / 9701 Fax: + 251 11 440 1006
Email: farm.ethiopia@ethionet.et

FARM-Africa Head Office, Ground Floor, Clifford’s Inn, Fetter Lane, London, EC4A 1BZ, UK
Tel: +44 (0)20 7430 0440
Email: farmafrica@farmafrica.org.uk
UK Registered Charity No; 326901

2
Acronyms

CAP Community Action Plan

CBEWS Community Based Early Warning System
CCP/CEP Community Contingency Plan/ Community Emergency Plan
CDC Community Development Committee
CDF Community Development Fund
CDFMC Community Development Fund Management Committee
CMDRR Community Managed Disaster Risk Reduction
CRF Community Response Fund
DA Development Agent
DCM Drought Cycle Management
DRRP Drought Risk Reduction Programme
EIPP Ethiopia Integrated Pastoralist Project
EW Early Warning
EWI Early Warning Information
FA FARM-Africa
KAC Kebele Appraisal Committee
KEW&DMC Kebele Early Warning and Disaster Management Committee
NRM Natural Resources Management
PDO Pastoral Development Office
PRUP Participatory Resource Use Planning
SNNPR Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples’ Region
WAC Woreda Appraisal Committee
WEW&DFC Woreda Early Warning and Development Fund Management
Committee
WEW&DMSC Woreda Early Warning and Disaster Management Steering
Committee

3
Contents

Page
No.
The Purpose of this Manual 6
Definitions 7
The Steps to establish CMDRR 8
Overview of CMDRR 9
GUIDE SHEETS:
1) Establishing/ strengthening Community Institutions 14
Guide Sheet One – Setting up Community Development Committees and
Community Based Early Warning Committees

2) Responding to Emergencies – Contingency Planning 18

Guide Sheet Two – Participatory Disaster Risk Assessment and risk mapping

3) Responding to Emergencies – Contingency Planning 21

Guide Sheet Three – Development of Community Contingency Plans

4) Responding to Emergencies – Implementing a Community Based Early 24

Warning System
Guide Sheet Four – Development and implementation of Community Based
Early Warning Information Monitoring and Management System

5) Responding to Emergencies – Implementing an Emergency Response 28

Guide Sheet Five – Establishment of a Community Response Fund and its
operation

6) Responding to Emergencies – Implementing an Emergency Response 30

Guide Sheet Six – Management, Monitoring and Evaluation of Community
Contingency Plans

7) Strengthening Communities to withstand disasters in the long term – 31

Community Action Planning
Guide Sheet Seven – Development of Community Preparedness/disaster
mitigation/ NRM/ community action plans

8) Strengthening Communities to withstand disasters in the long term – 34

Implementing Community Development Initiatives
Guide Sheet Eight - Establishment of a Community Development Fund and
its operation

9) Strengthening Communities to withstand disasters in the long term – 36

Implementing Community Development Initiatives
Guide Sheet Nine - Management, Monitoring and Evaluation of Community
Action Plans
Appendix 1 – Suggested monitoring formats for CCPs and CAPs for project 37
staff

4
 List of Photographs

Page
No.
Photo 1 Camel husbandry, a disaster risk reduction measure 1
Photo 2 KEW&DMC meeting to discuss and complete early warning 6
formats
Photo 3 Cotton fields, irrigated by the Waito River upstream from drought 9
stricken areas in Hamer Woreda
Photo 4 EW symbols relating to different indicators 11
Photo 5 Problem ranking for community action planning 11
Photo 6 Community Animal Health Worker in a Hamer community 13
Photo 7 Construction of a water cistern 14
Photo 8 Meeting of a Kebele Early Warning and Disaster Management 15
Committee
Photo 9 Channel to divert rain water from highland areas into an 17
underground water cistern
Photo 10 Cherqeqa CDC 17
Photo 11 Risk map for flooding in Ebore 20
Photo 12 Pastoralist children in a Hamer community 20
Photo 13 House building in Ebore 20
Photo 14 A Community Contingency Plan 21
Photo 15 An irrigation channel 22
Photo 16 Dead cattle as a result of flooding 23
Photo 17 EWI symbols stuck on to forms 24
Photo 18 EWI symbols relating to rainfall 25
Photo 19 Rangeland invaded by weeds and undergrowth 26
Photo 20 Rangeland which has been recently cleared 26
Photo 21 Man Drying fish 27
Photo 22 Community Action Plan 33
Photo 23 Camel husbandry group participants 33
Photo 24 Heifer management group participants 33
Photo 25 Flood diversion channel to water cistern 33
Photo 26 Small scale irrigation project 33

5
The Purpose of this Manual
This manual describes the key elements in FARM-Africa’s approach to Community
Managed Disaster Risk Reduction (CMDRR) at Kebele and Woreda level, based on its
experiences in the South Omo Zone of the Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples’
Region (SNNPR). These methods have been developed and adapted based on FARM-
Africa’s experience of working with pastoralists in Ethiopia for the past 20 years and
drawing on their experiences of implementing programmes involving participatory
community planning and the establishment of community managed funds. This
approach views disaster management as part of long term development programming,
rather than purely in the context of an emergency response. Usually, when a disaster
strikes, a response is prepared with emergency relief aimed at saving lives, with little focus
on saving livelihoods. The response is often late, is implemented after assets have been
lost, and after deaths have been reported. One of the most common disasters in the
areas where FARM-Africa has been working is drought or drought related disasters.
Recent experiences show that drought is a normal, inevitable part of the climate of the
dry lands and tends to happen following a cycle. It assumes each cycle has its own
peculiar characteristics that inform and shape the nature of response required. Drought
Cycle Management (DCM) as an approach has consequently brought a shift in the way
disasters are managed. FARM-Africa began working on DCM in South Omo with support
from CORDAID and building on this experience, they continue to address a range of
disaster risks through CMDRR. FARM-Africa’s methodology is focused on strengthening
community institutions to identify and respond in a timely manner to disasters, as well as to
plan longer term prevention and mitigative actions and community natural resource
management and development initiatives, which will enable pastoralist communities to
diversify their livelihoods and protect their assets.

The manual is set out as sequential Guide Sheets so that the user can make easy and
quick reference to specific steps and topics in the CMDRR process. It is based on the
premise of an NGO or other facilitating organisation (hereafter referred to as project staff),
working with pastoralist communities and government line sectors at Kebele and Woreda
level to develop and institutionalise the CMDRR system. Each Guide Sheet is illustrated to
give a visual representation of each step in the process.

This manual can be used as a training manual and field guide. It is aimed at professionals
working with communities to develop CMDRR in hazard prone areas.

It contains the following information:

™ A clear guide to the components of
CMDRR and the steps for disaster risk
management.
™ Options for Early Warning Institutions, their
establishment and support.
™ Options for community development
institutions focused on community
development/ natural resource
management priorities to complement
emergency responses.
™ Options for technical field methods
involved in the four key stages of
contingency planning: Investigation;
Planning; Implementation; Monitoring
and Evaluation.

6
 ™ Options for disaster mitigation and preparedness activities/ natural resource
management and community development initiatives through bottom-up
community action planning.
™ Templates for key documents in CMDRR, including the Hazard Assessment Form, the
Community Contingency Plan format, the Community Action Plan format,
Monitoring of the Community Contingency Plan and Community Action Plan.

Definitions1
Hazard is potential event that could cause loss of life, or damage to property or
environment.

Disaster refers to the serious disruption of the functioning of society causing widespread
human, material or environmental losses, which exceed the ability of the affected
communities to cope using their own resources. Disasters occur when the negative effects
of the hazards are not well managed.

Disaster Risk Management is the systematic process of using administrative decisions,

organization, operational skills and capacities to implement policies, strategies and
coping capacities of the society and communities to lessen the impacts of natural
hazards and related environmental and technological disasters. This comprises all forms of
activities, including structural and non-structural measures to avoid (prevention) or to limit
(mitigation and preparedness) the adverse impacts of hazards, within the broad context
of sustainable development.

Disaster Risk Reduction is a framework and a tool that determines the degree of risk and
describes measures to increase capacities and reduce hazard impact on the elements at
risk so that disaster will be avoided.

Coping mechanism or coping strategy refers to the application of indigenous knowledge

in the face of hazards and other threats. For example, in response to the different hazards
they are subjected to, communities in Hamer have developed different coping
mechanisms. These are: mobility, sale of livestock, herd splitting, food sharing, diversifying
herd species, and income diversification.

Mitigation covers measures that minimize the effects of hazards and thus lessen the
magnitude of a disaster. Mitigation measures can range from physical measures such as
flood defences or safe building design, to legislation and non-structural measures such as
training, organizing disaster volunteers, public awareness, food security programmes and
advocacy on development issues.

Prevention covers activities designed to impede the occurrence of a disaster event and/
or prevent such an occurrence from having harmful effects on communities and facilities.
Examples are safety standards for industries, flood control measures and land use
regulations. Poverty alleviation and assets redistribution schemes such as land reform,
provision of basic needs and services such as preventive health care, education are some
non-structural measures.

Community Managed Disaster Risk Reduction (CMDRR) is a process whereby a community

systematically manages its disaster risk reduction measures towards becoming a safer and
resilient community.

1 Building Resilient Communities, A training manual on Community-Managed Disaster Risk Reduction, IIRR &
Cordaid (2008)

7
The Steps to establish CMDRR

Establishing/ strengthening
Community Institutions

Guide Sheet One – Setting up

Community Development
Committees and Community
Based Early Warning Committees

Responding to Emergencies Strengthening Communities to

withstand disasters in the long
Contingency Planning term

Guide Sheet Two – Community Development Planning

Participatory Disaster
Risk Assessment and Guide Sheet Seven –
Risk Mapping Development of Community
Preparedness/disaster
mitigation/ NRM/ community
Guide Sheet Three – development plans
Development of
Community
Contingency Plans Implementing
community development
Implementing a Community initiatives
Based Early Warning System Guide Sheet Eight –
Establishment of a
Guide Sheet Four – Development Community
and implementation of Development Fund and
Community Based Early Warning its operation
Information Monitoring and
Management System

Implementing an Guide Sheet Nine –

Emergency Response Management, Monitoring and
Evaluation of Community
Guide Sheet Five – Action Plans
Establishment of a
Community Response Fund
and its operation

Guide Sheet Six–

Management, Monitoring and
Evaluation of Community
Contingency Plans

8
Overview of CMDRR

Community Managed Disaster Risk Reduction (CMDRR) is used to describe a community

led and managed process. This process aims to avoid disaster through the use of
assessment, organizational and operational skills and capacities to implement policies,
strategies and strengthen coping capacities to reduce the hazard impact on the
elements of risk.

The principle of CMDRR represents a community based development approach for linking
relief with development. This grassroots based approach greatly helps for analyzing
communities’ vulnerabilities, challenges/basic development constraints, assesses
resources, capacities, existing potentials and opportunities and involves facilitation of
community based development planning. Through identifying disaster risks, vulnerable
groups and the community’s capacity, appropriate contingency plans can be
developed through a participatory process to enable communities to implement disaster
risk preparedness and mitigation measures, as well as emergency response actions.

Droughts are a naturally occurring hazard in many parts of Ethiopia. Until fairly recently,
people knew how to deal with droughts. Pastoralists moved away from drought affected
lands into areas with more reliable sources of water and better grazing. When the rains
returned, they moved back to their traditional rangelands2. However, many drought
related problems have had the affect of gradually changing pastoralists’ way of life.
These problems include growing population, increased sedentarization, declining per
capita holdings/assets, resources depletion and environmental degradation, climate
change, resources based conflicts, inappropriate development interventions and
community marginalization.

This situation is
exacerbated by a
lack of appropriate
administrative policy
support. Traditional
coping mechanisms
have become less
effective. Pastoralists
are no longer as free
to move their
animals where they
want, some of the
land has been
privatised and water
sources are closed
to the herds. The
disaster risks that
confront pastoralists
and agro-pastoralists are therefore increasingly complex and interlinked. FARM-Africa’s
work with the Hamer, Ebore, Tsemay and Dasenach communities has enabled community
groups to address a number of these risks including drought, flooding, conflict, animal
disease outbreaks, human diseases, as well as to implement a number of mitigative

2Drought Cycle Management, A toolkit for the drylands of the Greater Horn, IIRR, Cordaid, ACACIA
Consultants, 2004

9
measures such as protection of rangeland, introducing camel husbandry, asset
diversification, training Community Animal Health Workers (CAHWs).

CMDRR is based on traditional systems of community assessment of disaster risks and

strategies undertaken to address these risks. Using traditional systems recognises the
importance of well established roles and responsibilities of different members of the
community and the existing knowledge, skills and capacities of community members.
When building on traditional Early Warning/ Disaster Risk Management systems, it is
important to recognise that present day contexts often require the system to be modified
so that the traditional system can function within current realities. For example it is likely
that the system will have to address issues of gender inequality, changing land use
patterns and disruption to traditional migratory routes and increased conflict over
resources. Also the impact of climate change should be carefully considered.

It is critical that any CMDRR system is developed by an appropriate community group,

working together with government partners (including the Development Agents (DAs) at
Kebele level and at the Woreda level, with the Early Warning Response and Food Security
Work Process, under the Pastoral Development Office, the Water Office, Education, Health
and Administration Offices. Links from Kebeles to the Woreda and between the Woreda
and Zonal and Regional Governments should be strengthened to ensure that Early
Warning Information (EWI) is communicated in a timely manner, leading to an appropriate
response from Woreda, Zonal and Regional Governments. The community groups and
government line sector officials need to develop a clear understanding of what the
specific disaster risks are, how they affect communities and what the mitigative/
protective and emergency measures involve and the resources and skills needed to
implement these measures. All stakeholders should buy in to the Community Contingency
Plans (CCPs)/ Community Emergency Plans (CEPs). Once these steps have been carried
out, the community groups will be able to put the CCPs into action when the need arises.
Alongside this, communities will be able to implement Community Action Plans (CAPs)
which address the longer term needs of the communities to build their capacity to
withstand disasters, to diversify their livelihoods and better protect and manage their
natural resources. In order to do this effectively they will need the support and technical
advice of the relevant government line departments.

To establish a CMDRR system, FARM-Africa has developed the following process which is
divided into three distinct stages:

1) Establishing/ Strengthening Community Institutions – identifying or establishing/

strengthening a community group (Community Development Committee) to identify the
long term development needs of the community including disaster mitigation and natural
resource management activities and community development initiatives. Once this
group is established, a sub-committee of this group is formed: a Kebele Early Warning and
Disaster Management Committee (KEW&DMC), to focus on gathering early warning
information, facilitating a risk analysis and implementing timely Contingency Plans to
respond to disasters. Relevant training and technical support should be provided to the
groups so that they can carry out their roles effectively.

10
2) Responding to Major Disaster Risks
This stage comprises of the following steps:
™ Contingency Planning – in order to develop a Community Contingency Plan
(CCP), firstly the disaster risks should be investigated through the identification and
gathering of information about the major disaster risks affecting the community, the
vulnerable groups and the capacity of the community to respond to these risks; the
capacity at Woreda level to respond to the risks. This should be followed by the
prioritisation of disaster risks
and the development of a
CCP to address each specific
risk, detailing actions, roles
and responsibilities of
stakeholders, resources
required and timeline.

™ Implementing a Community
Based Early Warning System –
the development of a
community based EWI system,
training and strengthening of
the Committee collecting the
EWI and dissemination of the
information to relevant
stakeholders to ensure a
timely response.

™ Implementing an Emergency Response - establishment of a Community Response

Fund (CRF) to be managed by the Early Warning and Disaster Management
Committee. (The CRF is a component of the Community Development Fund (CDF)
which is managed by the Community Development Committee). The
establishment of an appraisal system for release of CRF funds and implementation
of CCPs; agreement of roles and responsibilities for management, monitoring and
evaluation of CCPs.

3) Strengthening Communities to withstand disasters in the long term

This stage comprises the following steps:
™ Participatory
Community Action
Planning – to
develop a
Community Action
Plan (CAP), the
community
prioritises its
community
development
needs through
ranking of problems
and assessment of
their impact. Some
of the problems will
include disaster
mitigation measures
or activities to diversify livelihoods, hence increasing the community’s capacity to
11
 withstand disasters. Other initiatives will include natural resource management
strategies which will ultimately lead to protection from disasters and reduction of
the impact of disasters.

™ Implementing Community Development Initiatives - The establishment of a

Community Development Fund (CDF) to be managed by the Community
Development Committee; the establishment of an appraisal system for release of
CDF funds and implementation of CAPs. Agreement of roles and responsibilities for
management, monitoring and evaluation of CAPs.

Addressing Gender issues

In nearly all development circumstances gender is imbalanced, in terms of involvement,

roles and impact. Women and men have different roles in responding to various kinds of
hazards and are affected by hazards in different ways. Gender imbalance refers to the
unequal number of men and women involved in, and/or benefiting from, an activity. Roles
and responsibilities are also very important and related to power issues. Male dominance,
power and benefit is the norm3.

Mainstreaming gender issues in CMDRR is aimed at achieving gender balanced

development. FARM-Africa’s work in the Hamer Woreda has resulted in representation of
women in the Kebele Early Warning Groups which did not occur in the past. Women are
also playing an active role in Community Development Committees and in resolving
conflict. Women’s roles have also changed in relation to livestock ownership which was
traditionally forbidden amongst the four ethnic groups with whom FARM-Africa has been
working (Hamer, Dasenach, Ebore and Tsemay). Six women from these communities are
now working as CAHWs, following training and support from FARM-Africa. These changes
have taken time to bring about and have required project staff to repeatedly explain and
clarify that the Government of Ethiopia and FARM-Africa believes gender imbalance to
be both a cause and effect of under development. It is emphasised that the Government
of Ethiopia / FARM-Africa promotes gender balance (equal involvement, power and
benefit of men / women) within the work they support the community to do.

When supporting the establishment of a CMDRR system there are a number of practical
exercises that can be undertaken in order to promote gender balance, some examples of
which are given below:
™ Development professionals need gender awareness and skills: this often means
they need gender training.
™ Make sure both men and women in the community are aware that they should be
equally involved in CMDRR (women may not be used to being involved in
development meetings and activities).
™ Hold gender differentiated (men’s group / women’s group) meetings both to map
hazards and to identify the longer term development priorities of the community.
™ Arrange meetings and activities at appropriate times to suit different gender
groups, based on their livelihood roles.
™ Provide opportunities for women pastoralists to be trained as CAHWs, (see picture
overleaf of CAHW).
™ As CMDRR is introduced, track the performance of Community Early Warning
Groups to ensure that all sectors of the community are made aware of disaster risks
and mitigation measures and that the implementation of CCPs and their impact do

3
The Key Steps in Establishing Participatory Forest Management, A field manual to guide practitioners in
Ethiopia, FARM-Africa and SOS Sahel Ethiopia, 2007

12
 not involve/ benefit one gender group, at the expense of the other. Similarly track
the performance of the Community Development Committees to ensure that the
implementation/ benefits of CAPs are not gender biased.

As part of its work to strengthen CMDRR and the situation of women pastoralists, FARM-
Africa is introducing an initiative focused on training community based legal assistants
who will provide information and support to women on a range of issues, in partnership
with the Women’s Affairs Office.

13
Establishing/ Strengthening
Community Institutions
Guide Sheet One – Setting up
Community Development
Committees and Community
Based Early Warning
Committees
a) Community Development Committees
The CDCs bring together representatives
from traditional leaders, Kebele officials,
women, youth and all ethnic groups in
the community to jointly lead community
development. In each Kebele, the CDCs
are established with representatives from
different villages. Initially there is a
meeting for all community members from
whom the CDC members are selected.
Selection Criteria include the following:
ƒ Village representatives (x2 per village
in the Kebele), capable to move from
place to place to gather information,
raise awareness and mobilize people;
ƒ Elder representative (x1)
ƒ Youth representative (x1)
ƒ Women representative (x1, although
other members may also be women)
ƒ Disabled representative (x1)
ƒ Kebele Administration (x1, usually the
Chairperson)
ƒ Development Agent (x1)
The CDC establishes its own rules and regulations and appoints a Chair, Vice Chair,
Cashier and Secretary. The responsibilities of the group are detailed below:
1) To facilitate the development of CAPs, involving participation of a broad section
of the community and with technical support from government sector offices and
project staff.
2) To manage the CDF, to use it for natural resource management projects/ disaster
mitigation actions and wider development initiatives to strengthen the community
such as water point development / rehabilitation, refurbishing schools and clinics,
and setting up irrigation systems.
3) To mobilise the community to contribute support to the CAPs, either in-kind or in
monetary form and to seek funds from organisations working in the area.
4) To oversee the implementation of CDF funded projects, coordinating
collaboration from all stakeholders and monitoring their impact.
5) To oversee CDF funded schemes such as the Women’s Goats Group Scheme,
Women’s Petty Trading Groups.
6) Actively participate in follow-up, provision of required support, monitoring and
evaluation of the projects implemented within each Kebele.
7) Compile monthly, quarterly and annual progress
reports and take minutes of the CDC meetings
and submit reports to relevant Woreda officials
and institutions, as and when required.
8) Organize discussion sessions and community
feedback forums on local development issues.
9) Ensure the effective functioning of the Kebele
Early Warning and Disaster Management Sub-
Committees (KEW&DMCs).
The CDC should be supported through various trainings
in collaboration with the Woreda cooperative and
technical experts, focused on participatory resource
use planning (PRUP), community action planning,
project monitoring, leadership, resource mobilization
and fund management. The area of women’s rights should be particularly targeted
through training initiatives and followed up to ensure active participation of women in
the CDCs.
14

b) Early Warning Committees
Traditional Institutions
Each KEW&DMC should be a sub-
committee of the CDC. However, before
establishing an Early Warning Group, it is
important to understand existing groups
and the role of different community
members in Early Warning and Disaster
Risk Management.
FARM-Africa’s approach was to identify
existing groups in the Hamer community who
are responsible for gathering Early Warning
Information (EWI) and advising on disaster
responses. For example nobody undertakes
farming without the blessing of the Gudii, who
is supposed to request for rain from God so
that the community can start cropping
activities. Donzas are elders in the community
who provide advice in relation to disasters.
There are traditional forecasters and fortune
tellers who advise the community on their life
such as Met’eed who forecast based on the
movement of stars, Moorah who throw shoes
up and predict the future, and Koymo who
forecast by looking at animal intestines. The
Hamer community strongly believes in these
traditional institutions and follows decisions
made by them.
Kebele Early Warning and Disaster
Management Committees (KEW&DMCs)
The KEW&DMCs are established with the
same composition as the CDCs but in
addition, traditional forecasters such as
“DONZA” are included. The committees have between12-16 members (this depends on
the number of villages in the Kebele). At a meeting, individuals are identified according
to the following criteria:
™ Capable of forecasting hazards
™ Elders
™ Representatives of the villages who are capable to move from place to place to
gather information, raise awareness and mobilize people (including young
people)
™ Women representatives
™ Representatives of the Kebele administration
The KEW&DMC establishes its own rules and regulations and appoints a Chair, Vice
Chair, Cashier and Secretary. The responsibilities of the group are detailed below:
1) Collection of EWI information from different communities in the Kebele and
submitting this to the Woreda EW&DM Steering Committee on a monthly basis.
2) Preparation of Community Risk Maps, involving identifying possible hazards,
vulnerable groups, existing and
required capacities to address
these.
3) Development of Community
Contingency Plans (CCPs)
through community
participation.
4) Community mobilisation for
disaster risk preparedness
activities.
5) Raising funds from the
community and government
and non-government
stakeholders to support the CCPs
6) Management of the Community
Response Fund (CRF).
7) Identifying local resources and
taking initiatives to use them, selecting beneficiaries, encouraging community
participation, resolving disputes related to projects, monitor them etc.
15
c) The Woreda Early Warning and Disaster
Management Steering Committee
(WEW&DMSC)
This is currently led by the Woreda
Administration. It is comprised of
members of other line sectors including:
the Early Warning Response and Food
Security Work Process Department Head
(Secretary of the WEW&DMSC) and the
heads of the other sectoral offices such
as Women’s Affairs, PDO, Education,
Health, Finance and Economic Office,
Water Desk. FARM-Africa proposes that
this body should in future be coordinated
by the PDO.
The Committee has responsibility for
review of the Early Warning Information
(EWI) from all the Kebeles in the Woreda.
Feedback from members of this group
suggests that the EWI received from the
KEW&DMCs already established by
FARM-Africa, is of high quality and that
other Kebeles could benefit through
replicating this approach, particularly as
it is challenging for the DAs to collect all
this information from different villages in
their respective Kebeles. The
WEW&DMSC then has to collate this
information to prepare the Early Warning
Report to be submitted to the Zonal
Government who in turn will forward this
to the Regional Government.
Other related community structures:
d) Kebele Appraisal Committee (KAC)
A Kebele Appraisal Committee is formed in each target Kebele comprising of the CDC
Chairperson (Kebele administrator), Secretary and Vice Chair, two women
representatives and a project staff member. Its role is to appraise and approve the CAPs
developed by the CDCs and the CCPs developed by the KEW&DMCs, with support from
a project staff member. When a specific CAP or CCP is endorsed, the KAC requests
FARM-Africa to release the funds to the Kebele CDF. CRF money will be withdrawn from
the CDF to finance the CCP and CDF money will be used to finance the CAP. The KAC
is also responsible for monitoring the implementation of the community’s CAP and CCP
and reporting on CAP and CCP implementation to the CDC.
e) Community Development Fund Management Committee (CDFMC)
This is a sub-committee of the CDC and is responsible for opening a bank account for
the CDC in each target Kebele. It oversees the management of the community’s funds
for financing CAPs and CCPs. The CDFMC is also responsible for ensuring that funds are
spent as intended and there is transparency in financial planning, implementation and
reporting and that an annual external audit is conducted by the Woreda Cooperative
Office and the Finance and Economic Development Office.
f) Woreda Early Warning and Development Fund Management Committee (WEW& DFC)
The WEW&DFC will oversee overall development in the Woreda (EW and disaster issues
as well as NRM strategies and the utilisation of CRF resources at Woreda level). This
Committee is made up of the Woreda Administration (Chair), PDO, Early warning and
food Security Office (Secretary), Women Affairs (member) and all KAC chairpersons. It is
responsible for facilitating the preparation of the Woreda level Contingency Plan with
relevant stakeholders and mobilising the contingency funds to support this plan. It is
responsible for opening a bank account at Woreda level for the Woreda Response Fund.
It will facilitate disaster risk support along with the KEW&DMCs at Kebele level and ensure
coordination with the interventions/ emergency support provided by other actors
operating in the Woreda.
This Committee acts as the Appraisal Committee for the Woreda level CRF, with the
additional inclusion of a project staff member. Representatives from the KACs also serve
16
on the committee in order to share
information on a particular hazard in their
community.

The Committee also appraise the NRM

plans that are prepared by the target
Kebeles for funding by the CDFs, in order
to avoid duplication of NRM activities
being implemented by the Woreda
government.

17
Responding to Emergencies –
Contingency Planning Characteristics Elements Description of the Hazard Exposure Variables
How will it How will it
Guide Sheet Two – Participatory affect me? affect
Disaster Risk Assessment and risk my
mapping community
Cause/origin • Cattle raids Inter-ethnic gun fighting is • Killing • Loss of life
In order to undertake a Hazard
• Competing due to competition for • Hunger and
Assessment, a number of steps are access to water access to water resources. • Loss of property
followed. Firstly, the KEW&DMC organise resources Gun fighting will erupt after property • Migration
a community meeting. Those present are a month of hearing guns • Livelihood • Disease
asked to identify hazards that have Force Guns and firing and chanting of war disruption outbreak
occurred in the past and to analyse the bullets songs. The fighting lasts for • Harassment • Disruption
nature and behaviour of these particular a month during the dry and rape of
hazards. The assessment aims to capture How do you know • Chanting war season and happens once livelihood
information on the characteristics of if it happens songs or twice a year. The actual
hazards, specifically, the cause of the (warning signs & • Gun firing fighting could develop
signals) slowly or fast, depending
hazard, the hazard force, warning signs
on community decisions.
and signals, forewarning, speed of onset,
Forewarning One month
frequency, period of occurrence and
duration. This information can be After the signs, Slow to fast
compiled in the following table which has how fast does it
been adapted from the format occur? (Speed of
developed by CORDAID and the Onset)
International Institute for Rural
Reconstruction (IIRR) and shows an Frequency Once or twice
analysis relating to conflict in the Hamer in a year
woreda.
Period of Dry Season
occurrence

Duration One month

18
In this manner, the KEW&DMC members identify all of the hazards which affect the Capacities Addressing Hazard
communities in their Kebele. For each hazard they are asked to identify who are the Existing Required Gaps
most vulnerable groups. There are two ways of measuring vulnerability4: Hazard Training (basic & Sustainable
Prevention refresher) of supply of
Unsafe Location Unsafe Conditions Measures CAHWs, timely drugs/ timely
Eg. provision of vaccines
Livestock veterinary drugs/
Risk = Hazard x Vulnerability Risk = Hazard x Vulnerability disease vaccines, strong
Capacity outbreak links with Woreda
™ Degree of exposure is measured in relation to ™ Capacity determines the & private drug
the location of the element at risk and the extent of vulnerability vendors
force of the hazard Hazard Traditional Same as above Lack of
™ Capacity differs from location Mitigation healing budget and
Measures modern
animal health
FARM-Africa’s approach is to consider vulnerability in relation to location. Participants knowledge
are asked to consider the vulnerability of humans and livestock. They then give a and skills
ranking of high/medium/low in relation to these particular groups. This allows capacity
to be considered as separate from vulnerability rather than determining vulnerability. Following identification of hazards and
Finally the capacity of the community to mitigate against the hazards is assessed. assessment of vulnerable groups and
Community Capacity Assessment identifies the strengths and resources present among capacity, the group develops a hazard
individuals, households and the community to cope with, withstand, prevent, prepare map which they draw in the sand. These
for, mitigate or quickly recover from a disaster. Coping means managing resources in show the communities/ areas affected by
times of adversity. Participants are asked to identify experience, resources and the specific hazard. These maps are then
knowledgeable community members. They reflect on the traditional coping mechanisms drawn on flip-chart paper by the project
they have adopted in the past as well as identifying other actions which are needed to and government staff facilitating the
strengthen their response to a hazard and the kind of knowledge, skills and resources process. Each KEW&DMC will produce a
they would need in order to implement these actions as well as external inputs to number of risk maps each one relating to a
address the gaps. The information can be compiled according to the following format5: specific hazard. The whole process of
hazard identification and mapping can
take two to three days. The risk maps
prepared are shown to the KEW&DMCs and
wider community members for feedback, to
ensure that they are correct.

4
Building Resilient Communities, A training manual on Community-Managed Disaster Risk Reduction, IIRR &
Cordaid (2008), Module 2 Submodule 2 Session 2
5
Building Resilient Communities, A training manual on Community-Managed Disaster Risk Reduction, IIRR &
Cordaid (2008), Module 2 Submodule 2 Session 3

19
The map below shows the areas affected by flooding in the Ebore
Community:

The USAID RELPA Guide to Early Response to Slow-onset crises (February

2008) includes guidance on developing a ‘normal’ seasonal calendar as
well as a ‘scenario calendar’ which are useful tools as the information
contained in these calendars helps to give a clear idea of when certain
disasters are likely to occur.

20
Responding to Emergencies – Contingency Planning
Guide Sheet Three – Development of Community Contingency Plans
Once the hazards are identified and assessed by the KEW&DMC, there is discussion in
relation to prioritising the hazards. Facilitators need to assist the participants in ranking
the priorities in relation to the frequency of occurrence of the hazards and the numbers
of people affected, taking into account the capacity for response. Care needs to be
taken in order to gather wider community feedback to determine the prioritisation of the
hazards. In this discussion, the traditional copping measures are fully explored and the
possible options for addressing the hazard are critically identified together with the
specific sector office experts. The KEW&DMC then prepare CCPs for the first three or four
hazards in the list of prioritised hazards, with the support of the project and government
staff. The CCPs aim to address the cause/causes of the hazard and then alleviate
this/these. The format for the CCP is similar to that of FARM-Africa’s Community Action
inputs. The CCPs are then copied for the
Plan (CAP) which is shown below:
Woreda Early Warning and Disaster
Management Steering Committee
Hazard_________________________________________
(WEW&DMSC). If there is no active
WEW&DMSC, then it may be necessary to
Cause/ Causes of hazard_________________________________
establish this body, requiring the facilitation
of training and support and determination
Possible Solution/s__________________________________________
of roles and responsibilities of the
Committee members. This group should be
Activities Responsible Contribution of Types of Who will Estima Time
Body Responsible Materials Provide these ted frame
responsible for collating and reviewing the
Body /Inputs materials and Cost EWI from all the Kebeles in the Woreda in
when of order to establish when there are signs of
inputs the onset of a disaster. This Committee
should agree triggers for decision-making.
These ‘triggers’ are the conditions which
indicate that in all probability, the
conditions for needing the intervention will
It is important to determine the contribution from the community and external sources
and to collect accurate information in relation to costs. This information may need to be
added later after further investigation by NGO or government sector staff. The
preparation of CCPs takes one to two days with a third day to finalise the budget and

21
exist by the time you are ready, if you begin the preparation now.6
Challenges:
Ironically, the most difficult kind of crisis to prepare for can be the
very slow onset crisis. Droughts are usually only a serious livelihood
crisis when more than one set of rains fail. However the crisis can hit
very hard shortly after the failure of the second rains. This means that
a decision to intervene is usually necessary before the second rains
have failed. However it is not realistic to expect that a full
emergency response can be mobilised before there is indication that
the emergency will in fact arise 7. CCPs can be flexible enough to
allow communities to begin implementing their responses before an
emergency is fully developed.
Once the Woreda level Committee confirm the onset of a specific disaster in a
community/communities, they should work closely with the Woreda Early Warning and
Development Fund Management Committee which will coordinate the government
and NGO contributions to the relevant CCPs as and when required, as well as mobilising
the Woreda level CCP if relevant.
In advance of implementation,
the KEW&DMC shares the
CCPs with the wider
community, so that all
members of the communities
are aware of their
responsibilities and the
activities to be undertaken,
should a specific CCP be
implemented.
6 &7 The RELPA Guide to Early Response
to slow-onset crises or “How to make
contingency planning useful, in just
fifteen easy steps”, CACAPS & ELMT,
February 2008
The KEW&DMCs also develop Preparedness
Plans which include disaster preparedness
activities and mitigative measures relating
to a specific hazard which can be
undertaken before hazards occur in order
to strengthen the community’s capacity to
respond to a disaster risk and minimize the
impact of a hazard. The kinds of activities
which may be included in Preparedness
Plans could be the management of
rangeland, small-scale irrigation initiatives,
development of alternative income
generating activities for vulnerable groups,
construction of water harvesting and
storage structures, asset building (through
goat credit schemes and camel husbandry
practices etc.) These Preparedness Plans
should be funded through the Community
Development Fund (CDF) and coordinated
by the CDCs where possible and should not
be funded through the CRF. Some of these
disaster preparedness activities can be
implemented by the communities without
requiring expenditure of the CDF, such as
rangeland clearing and enclosure (cash for
work may be provided from the CDF for this
activity during the critical period), incense
and gum production, and agronomic
practices including, conservation, tillage,
early planting, shifting grazing areas etc.
22
Example of Hazard prioritisation in Ebore community:

Conflict (with the Borana, Dasenach and Hamer)

1) Human diseases
2) Drought
3) Animal Diseases
4) Flood
5) Wild Fire

How Conflict was addressed through the CCP:

Causes were identified as asset robbing and pasture invasion.

Actions taken:
The Ebore held community dialogues for a year with the Hamer and
Borana which has served to maintain peaceful relations between these
communities. Inputs provided by the communities included provision of
food: meat, coffee husk drink

How Malaria is being addressed through the CCP:

Actions to be taken:
The distribution of mosquito nets is planned. The community has been
given some nets by NGOs and government. The community contribution
includes providing training to people living in marshy areas

23
Responding to Emergencies – Implementing a Community Based Early
In the DCM
Warning System project, a
Guide Sheet Four – Development and Implementation of Community local artist
Based Early Warning Information, Monitoring and Management adapted
System the symbols
used and
Once KEW&DMCs have been established, their roles and responsibilities have been paper
defined and they have assessed hazards and prepared risk maps and contingency formats
plans, it is important to build their capacity to collect, analyse and report disaster related were
information. This can be done through a training course (2-5 days) which includes developed
identifying EW indicators and developing symbolically expressed formats which simplify which the
the timely reporting and monitoring of disaster risks. The formats developed in FARM- KEW&DMCs
Africa’s DCM project were found to be highly appropriate for use by illiterate groups. The use to
Community Based Early Warning System (CBEWS) developed, is thus based on existing collect EWI once a month.
approaches for collecting EWI already practiced. For example in six Kebeles of Hamer,
the following indicators for drought, animal disease and conflict, were identified by The EWI formats collect information on the
KEW&DMC members: following areas: animal health, human
Drought Animal Disease Conflict health, rainfall, crop pests, conflict,
Highly blowing winds Strong blowing of dusty wind Unusual movement of people availability and source of water and food/
searching for pasture. crop situations. Each KEW&DMC appoints
Failure of rain during two abnormal behaviour of unusual shortage of pasture and
consecutive rainy seasons. livestock water and drought
Disaster Monitors to collect this information
Change in colour (to yellow) of Heavy rain after long dry Livestock raiding. (from 3-5, depending on the number of
Acacia trees. season. villages). Each member has a responsibility
Reduced body condition of pet Rainfall fluctuation from the to monitor the situation and share the
and other animals. normal season. information during the monthly meeting.
Reduced livestock price. Appearing of unusual insect.
Absence of palatable grasses and Unusual foggy weather
water condition Once the EWI formats are agreed it is
Shading of leaves of plants crucial to facilitate a workshop with
(deciduous trees). government stakeholders at Woreda and
Absence of libido in animals. Kebele level, to ensure understanding of the
Occurrence of sleet and tiny
formats by all stakeholders and to elicit
steady moving clouds.
Decrease in water table of the commitment from relevant departments in
existing water points. relation to the collation and review of the
Increased magnitude of migration EWI at Woreda level.
to border areas.

24
 was that DAs in each Kebele have been active in assisting the
KEW&DMCs on the analysis, compilation of the report and
documentation of the EWI. They also took responsibility to follow
up on the preparedness and emergency response activities
planned and implemented by the communities.

The following steps are therefore recommended by FARM-Africa

to develop and strengthen a CBEWS over 6 months to a year in 9
Kebeles, based on the work of 3 field staff with inputs from
around 3 government experts from different government offices.

Activity Stakeholders participating

Assess the current level of early The Woreda sector offices
warning capacity at Woreda (PDO, Water, Health,
and Kebele level (SWOT analysis) Education, Justice &
Security, Administration
Women’s Affairs)
Community workshop to Community representatives,
EWI Reporting – A stakeholder workshop can be useful for
enhance awareness on CBEWS KEW&DMC members and
establishing the meeting and reporting times for the EWI. For
DAs (trained on CMDRR)
example, in FARM-Africa’s DCM project, regular meeting times
Community identifying indicators The specific Kebele
were set at once every two weeks at village level, once a month
of the various disasters (drought, EW&DMCs
at Kebele level and once in a quarter at Woreda level.
conflict etc.) based on the
Therefore, EWI is collected first at village level, then compiled,
findings of the baseline survey
reviewed and analysed at Kebele level before being passed on
Workshop to develop EWI Representatives of the
to the Woreda. It was decided that one representative of the
Monitoring and management KEW&DMC members, DAs,
KEW&DMC would join the WEW&DMSC meeting once in a
system Woreda and Zonal level
quarter.
relevant sector office
Strengthening these stakeholder relationships is a significant officials and experts
factor in ensuring that the EWI reaches the Woreda Steering Community selection and Facilitated by the
Committee. Some communities have faced challenges in training of disaster monitors at government partners who
sending the EWI formats to the Woreda town and have been Kebele level have a ToT on CMDRR.
reliant on FARM-Africa to facilitate this process. It should be Refresher training for the disaster Facilitated by the
possible to pass the information to the Kebele DA to submit to monitors government partners who
the WEW&DMSC on a monthly basis. FARM-Africa’s experience have a ToT on CMDRR.

25
The communities with whom FARM-Africa has been working,
reported that establishing the CBEWS has been a very important
development for them. As a result, they are able to predict
hazards and protect their assets from drought and flash floods.

“The KEW&DMC is a strong group and has

planned appropriately for this community. As
a result of collecting the EWI, we have
implemented range management activities
and saved animal lives in four areas in the
Ebore community. This could be replicated in
other areas. We did this by creating
awareness in our communities that range
management is an asset which can save
vulnerable animals in times of drought,
particularly lactating cows and calves. We
enclosed and cleared a rangeland area; then
we established fines for anyone entering the
enclosed area (cow – Birr 50, goat – Birr 10)
and we have promoted a cut and carry
feeding system.”
EWI Monitoring – it is the role of the WEW&DMSC to monitor the
Quote from Ebore KEW&DMC member EWI from all the Kebeles in the Woreda and FARM-Africa will
strengthen its capacity to do this in its EIPP. Currently, in the case
of Hamer, this task is undertaken by an Expert on EW and Food
Security in the Pastoral Development Office and takes
approximately five days and involves reviewing information from
35 Kebeles, excluding the towns. The information needs to be
triangulated with experts from the Health, Water and Education
sectors. Following this, all the information is compiled and sent to
the Zonal Pastoral Development Office by the 25th of the month
and from there it is forwarded to the Regional Bureau of Pastoral
Affairs. Given that it is not possible for Woreda officials to access
all 35 Kebeles, the CBEWS ensures that reliable Kebele level
information is reported. The remaining challenge is to replicate
this approach in all Kebeles in the Woreda.
26
At Woreda level, there are limited resources to enable an
immediate response to a disaster. For example there are a
limited amount of drug supplies for livestock diseases, but
generally, support would be needed from the Regional level.

It may be necessary facilitate the strengthening of the

WEW&DMSC to take on the role of establishing and managing a
Woreda level CRF and coordinating and monitoring disaster
responses and CCPs at the Kebele and Woreda levels. To
achieve this, training on CMDRR can be provided as well support
in defining roles, responsibilities and developing an Action Plan
for the Committee. Guidelines for the Committee should also be
developed to ensure that knowledge and practice are
institutionalised and the Committee is not weakened through
movement of government staff. In addition, equipment can be
provided in order to establish a Documentation Centre where
records of all information relevant to CMDRR can be housed.

Involving WEW&DMSC members in regular field visits to the target

kebeles as well as facilitating an exchange visit to learn from
other regions in which communities are implementing CMDRR
approaches, will also serve to develop the skills of Woreda
government personnel and increase their understanding of the
practical issues and challenges of implementing CMDRR.

27
Responding to Emergencies – Implementing an
Emergency Response
Guide Sheet Five – Establishment of a Community
Response Fund and its operation
Each CDC should open a bank account in order to establish a
CDF for the Kebele and set up a Community Development Fund
Management sub-committee (CDFMC). The CRF funds will be
allocated from the CDF in order to finance CCPs. The
WEW&DMSC should also establish a Woreda level CRF.
FARM-Africa is contributing money to these funds for nine
Kebeles in Hamer and to the Woreda level CRF through its EIPP8.
During this project, it will build the capacity of the CDCs to
secure funding from other NGOs and GOs and facilitate linkages
to stakeholders operational in the area, with the aim of creating
a sustainable CDF mechanism which includes CRF funding and
can continue to finance CCPs and CAPs beyond the project
timeframe.
CRF funds should be used only for disaster mitigation purposes
and not to address the longer term development priorities in the
target communities, these priorities, along with disaster
preparedness activities, will be addressed through the CDF.
Management of the CRF must include appropriate financial
reporting of all expenditure and facilitation of an external annual
audit of expenditure by the Woreda Cooperative Office and the
Finance and Economic Development Office.
Appraisal Committees
Firstly appraisal bodies should be established at Kebele levels:
8
FA is contributing Birr 280,816 to the CRF over 2 years and Birr 2,690,000 to the
CDF over 2 years
1) Kebele Appraisal Committee (KAC)
A Kebele Appraisal Committee should be formed in each target
Kebele comprising of 7-8 members, as described in Guide Sheet
One. Part of their role is to appraise and approve the CCPs
developed by the KEW&DMC with support from a project staff
member. They are also responsible for monitoring the
implementation of the CCP and reporting on CCP
implementation.
2) Woreda level Appraisal
At Woreda level, the WEW&DFC should be supported to act as
the Appraisal Committee for the CRF as described in Guide
Sheet One. A minimum of 50% of the WEW&DFC should attend
the Appraisal meeting in order for formal decisions to be
approved. The responsibility of this Appraisal Committee is to
approve CCPs from the Kebeles and endorse these. In the
context of FARM-Africa’s EIPP, this will mean that FARM-Africa
can release the funds for the approved CCPs to the Kebele CDF
Accounts. The endorsement also represents a commitment of
the WEW&DFC to support the implementation of the CCP along
with the WEW&DMSC.
The Appraisal process used by FARM-Africa
™ The CCPs are firstly reviewed by the EIPP staff to ensure that the
planned activities are feasible and to verify the costs of the
materials/ services required. Any further information or changes
required to the CCPs will be discussed with the KEW&DMCs.
™ A Kebele Appraisal Committee meets when the CCPs have been
prepared by the KEW&DMCs and have been reviewed by EIPP
staff. The KAC, joined by an EIPP technical staff member, should
assess the potential impact of the disaster hazard, the capacity of
the community to respond and the methods proposed for
28
 addressing the disaster hazard and meeting the needs of the most
vulnerable groups/ elements. The budget and community
contributions for the action should also be analysed. If further work
is required on the CCP, feedback/ questions should be given to the
KEW&DMC.
™ Once approved by the KAC, a letter of recommendation should
be prepared by this body to indicate approval of the CCP. The
letter should be witnessed and approved by the
WEW&DFC/WEW&DMSC or the Early Warning Response and Food
Security Work Process (and should be signed and sealed by either
of these bodies).
Detailed financial procedures should be developed with project
staff to ensure a transparent system for CRF expenditure and
reporting. Accurate financial reports should be reviewed
following the implementation of a CCP by the project staff.
These reports should be submitted to the WEW&DFC, the
Woreda Documentation Centre and the FARM-Africa Country
Office. An annual audit of the CDF accounts, including CRF
expenditure should be conducted by the Woreda Cooperative
Office and the Finance and Economic Development Office. The
audit should be participatory in manner (involving the CDC,
KEW&DMC and a project staff representative).

™ Following Woreda level approval, the CCP budget and plan should At Woreda level, funds will be transferred to the WEW&DFC
then be sent to the FA Country Office to the Finance Department Account once the Woreda CCP has been approved. The
for assessment. Any questions or concerns from the Finance
financial expenditure reports from this body in relation to the
Department should be addressed so that the CCP can be
Woreda CCP should be sent to project staff for review and
approved and ready on the shelf. A copy of each CCP should be
kept by the KEW&DMC, the WEW&DFC and the Woreda analysis.
Documentation Centre to be established by the EIPP. Copies of
approved CCPs should also be sent to the Regional Government
Signatory Offices.

™ Once the CCPs are approved in this way, FA will transfer the money
to the Kebele CDF Accounts and the Woreda CRF account so that
it is ready to be used, should a disaster occur.

™ When a KEW&DMC requests a CCP to be operationalised as a

result of the onset of a particular disaster hazard, the KAC should
check that the onset of the disaster hazard covered by the CCP is
indicated in the EWI collected by the communities according to
the agreed triggers. If the indicators identify that the hazard is
critical, the KAC will inform the CDFMC and KEW&DMC so that they
can immediately operationalise the CCP, access the funds and
mobilise the community members and contributions.

29
Responding to Emergencies –
Implementing an Emergency
Response
Guide Sheet Six – Management,
Monitoring and Evaluation of
Community Contingency Plans
The management of the CRF in each
Kebele is the responsibility of the
CDFMC. The KEW&DMC and CDFMC
should maintain close communication
with the Woreda PDO during
implementation of the CCP so that if a
response is required from the Woreda
government, the need for this can be
communicated as soon as possible.
from the Woreda. The compiled CCP reports should be made available in the Woreda
Documentation Centre as well as being sent to the Zonal Government, which could also
forward the reports to relevant Regional Offices. The WEW&DFC is responsible to follow
up with the Zonal Government if further funds/ resources are needed to adequately
address a specific disaster at Kebele or Woreda level.
Once a year, a meeting will be facilitated for all the KEW&DMCs with the WEW&DMSC
and WEW&DFC in order to reflect, share learning and strengthen the CRF planning,
implementation, monitoring and evaluation and to disseminate good practices.
CCP Reporting Format
1) Hazard Addressed: _____________________________________________
2) Hazard priority for the community (ie. number on the priority list): ________________
3) Duration of implementation of CCP: ________________________________

The KEW&DMC should work closely with 3) Total budget expended: _____________________________________
the KACs to review and collate
monitoring information on the 4) Summary Report
implementation of the CCPs as well as
assessing their impact. This information, Description of Number of Number of Community External Challenges Things we
collected in the format shown, should be Activities people/ people/ contributions contributions experienced would do
submitted to the Woreda PDO who are implemented animals animals in differently
responsible for the collation and benefiting negatively implementing next time
(M/F) affected by actions
compilation of CCP monitoring data
hazard
from all the project Kebeles. The project (M/F)
staff should verify these reports through
gathering wider feedback from
community members and completing
their own monitoring forms (See
Appendix 1). The information in these
reports should be analysed by the PDO
to assess whether any action is required

30
Strengthening Communities to The following steps are required:
withstand disasters in the long 1) Problem identification – communities identify development problems, including natural
term – Community Action Planning resource problems, which they face. Each problem is critically assessed to identify its root
Guide Sheet Seven – causes and the extent of its effects on the vulnerable elements. This is achieved through
Development of Community the project staff facilitating a meeting with the CDC joined by key informants, especially
elders from different villages in the Kebele. Government DAs also participate. Technical
Preparedness/disaster staff share ideas and give advice in relation to possible solutions to tackle the problems
mitigation/ NRM/ community and the inputs required, however, they do not impose their views or interests.
action plans 2) Problem prioritisation – This can be undertaken in a number of ways including simple
The approach taken by the CDC to and pair-wise ranking, proportional piling with stones/ grain. Below is an example of the
facilitate community development results of a pair-wise ranking exercise undertaken by FARM-Africa’s Ethiopian Pastoralist
planning is similar to contingency Programme in Afar in 2007:
planning in that it is a participatory
Problem matrix ranking of the Kebele
process with wide involvement of the
community. It is based on FARM-Africa’s No Problem Ma Ro Fds Drw Grm Huh AH Score Rank
Participatory Resource Use Planning 1 Market Ro Fds Ma Ma Huh AH 2 5
(PRUP) methodology. PRUP is an 2 Road Ro Ro Ro Ro Ro 6 1
amalgamation of a systematic 3 Food Fds Fds Fds Fds 5 2
Shortage
assessment of natural capital potential
4 Drinking Grm Huh AH 0 7
and its limitations through conventional Water
land use planning, with socio-economic 5 Grinding Huh AH 1 6
planning, using a participatory Mill
approach. The technique was designed 6 Human Huh 4 3
Health
for the purpose of selecting and
7 Animal 3 4
adopting land use options and Health
alternative small scale enterprises as off- Key: Ma = Market, Ro = Road, Fds = Food Shortage, Drw = Drinking Water, Grm = Grinding Mill, Huh = Human
farm activities, which are the most Health, AH = Animal Health
beneficial to land users without
Based on this, the community prioritised these problems in the following order of importance:
degrading the resources or the
1) Damage to the main roads which connect the Kebele to the Woreda town
environment, together with the 2) Shortage of food (household food insecurity)
improvement of the livelihood asset 3) Absence of human health service
base of vulnerable community 4) Absence of animal health service
members. 5) Absence of market place (small or big)
6) Absence of grinding mill
7) Absence of drinking water for 3 villages

31
Once the problems have been prioritised, the group identify possible options for Development of the CAPs may take up to
addressing these problems. This includes discussion of existing capacity and coping four days: two days for problem
mechanisms (a problem tree can be developed by the community). These options are identification and developing the plans;
then assessed and prioritised in order to prepare Community Action Plans based on the two days to present the plans back to the
selected options. community for further inputs and prepare
the table detailing materials and costs.
3) Development of Community Action Plan (CAP) - The CAP contains the detailed
activities required in order to address the solution as well as the roles and responsibilities, In order to gather the information for the
timeline and resources required. The CAP tables are shown below: CAP, it may be necessary to undertake a
stakeholder analysis to clarify the roles of
Objective Community Strategies Results/ Who is Resources different stakeholders, their interests and
Activities Success/ Responsible
influences (Venn diagram, SSI). A
Indicators
Needed Where to
community asset analysis can be
get it undertaken to identify the existing assets/
Short term resources and livelihood strategies that
1) are already practised (Resource
2) mapping, FGD, SSI, proportional piling,
3) ranking, scoring etc). Gender issues should
Long term be analysed and the different power
1) relations in the community (Venn
2) diagram, FGD, SSI, gender analysis tools -
activity profile, access and control of
Activities Executive/ Materials/ Estimated Who will When Who will
Implementing inputs cost provide follow resources).
Body required up
CAPs should be endorsed by the
community. This is achieved by presenting
the CAPs in a community meeting and
An alternative format for the CAP is as follows: ensuring that recommended changes are
Priority Cause Solution Actions Respons Contrib Inputs Source Time incorporated in the final version.
Problem of ible ution of of input frame
problem Body Respons A Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation
ible Plan should also be developed which
Body
identifies the changes which the CAP
intends to bring about. Indicators should
be established which correspond to these
changes.

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 Examples of the kinds of CAPs implemented by
communities in Hamer from 2007 – 2009:
™ Women’s goat credit groups
™ Camel husbandry group
™ Women’s petty trading groups
™ Gum and incense production and marketing youth
groups
™ Range land management initiatives
™ Small scale irrigation projects
™ Heifer Management Group
™ Establishing vegetable shops
™ Setting up a fuel marketing shop
The following photos show members of the camel husbandry
group, the Heifer Management Group, a flood diversion
channel to a water cistern, a small scale irrigation project.
“Now we have tested the first harvest of maize and sorghum and
saved our family in this time of drought period, which is a dream for all
of us because we have been dependent on rain fed agriculture and
faced frequent crop failure for years and were reliant on relief food
aid. However, thanks to FARM-Africa, from now onwards nobody can
stop us from having two to three harvests per year. Now, we know the
way to escape from drought, and hunger. Look at me, I have more
than five quintals of grain from the first harvest and 400 birr from the
sale of peppers, tomatoes and onions which is more than enough to
cover the fuel expenses for the whole of the cropping season. Seeing is
believing, by looking at our success, the demand from the community
has increased rapidly, now we are forced to look for additional water
pumps.” (Quote from Ato Bali Shuko, member of the SSI group and
Secretary of the KEW&DMC)
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Strengthening Communities to withstand disasters
in the long term – Implementing Community
Development Initiatives
Guide Sheet Eight - Establishment of Community
Development Fund and its operation
As described in Guide Sheet Five, each CDC should open a
bank account in order to establish a CDF for the Kebele and set
up a CDFMC to manage this fund. CDF funds should be used
only for natural resource management purposes or to address
the longer term development priorities in the target communities
or undertake disaster preparedness activities.
The Community Action Plans must be developed through a
participatory process led by the CDCs. Two types of CAP should
be developed, one type focused on NRM projects and others
on broader community development needs. The development
of each CAP should include an assessment of how the particular
problem impacts on vulnerable groups in the community and of
the capacity and resources of the community to address the
problem. Each plan should include the detailed budget which
relates to the identified actions. The intention is that the CAPs
should be developed for 4-5 priority problems identified by the
communities and should then be submitted for approval by the
Appraisal Committee. The Kebele Appraisal Committees will
undertake a standardised appraisal process.
Appraisal process for the CAPs
™ The CAPs are firstly reviewed by the project staff to ensure that the
planned activities are feasible and to verify the costs of the
materials/ services required. Any further information or changes
required to the CAPs will be discussed with the CDCs.
™ The KAC meets when the CAPs have been prepared by the CDCs
and have been reviewed by the project staff. The KAC, joined by
a project technical staff member, assesses the technical feasibility
of the CAP and its potential impact, the capacity of the
community to collaborate and contribute and the methods
proposed for addressing the problem and meeting the needs of
the most vulnerable groups/ elements. The budget and
community contributions for the action should also be analysed. If
further work is required on the CAP, feedback/ questions should be
given to the CDC. Other factors to assess include the level of
community participation proposed, including women’s
involvement and benefit, the environmental impact and
sustainability. If it is possible, an appraisal at field level should be
conducted to assess the technical issues and the community
opinions. Based on these criteria a scoring system should be
developed to help the KAC rank the CAPs.
™ Once approved by the KAC, a letter of recommendation should
be prepared by this body to indicate approval of the CAP. The
letter should be witnessed and approved by the CDC and the
WEW&DFC (and should be signed and sealed by either of these
bodies).
™ Following Woreda level approval, the CAP budget and plan should
then be sent to the Finance Department of the FA Country Office
for assessment. Any questions or concerns from the Finance
Department should be addressed so that the CAP can be
approved. A copy of each CAP should be kept by the CDC and
the Woreda Documentation Centre to be established by the EIPP.
Copies of approved CAPs should also be sent to the Regional
Government Signatory Offices.
™ Once the CAPs are approved in this way, FA will transfer the
money to the Kebele CDF Accounts.
The CDC will ultimately take on the role of coordinating the
inputs from the different stakeholders including facilitating the
necessary technical support and accessing the relevant
resources to implement the CAPs.
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Strengthening Communities to withstand disasters
in the long term – Implementing Community
Development Initiatives
Guide Sheet Nine - Management, Monitoring and
Evaluation of Community Action Plans
Documentation Centre and the FARM-Africa Country Office. An
annual audit of each CDF account and CAP expenditure
should be conducted by the Woreda Cooperative Office and
the Finance and Economic Development Office. The audit
should be participatory manner (involving the CDC and a
project staff representative).

In order to implement the CAP, a number of preparatory CAP Reporting Format

activities should be undertaken which include the CDCs
1) Problem addressed: _____________________________________________
ensuring that there is a common understanding of the
objectives, expected outcomes and the methods to be 2) Priority for the community (ie. number on the priority list): ________________
involved in CAP implementation. It is important to be clear
about the target area involved and to create awareness and 3) Duration of implementation of CAP: _________________________________
mobilise the community to contribute to the CAP
implementation. 3) Total budget expended: _____________________________________

The CDFMC subcommittees and the CDCs are responsible for 4) Summary Report
overseeing the implementation of the CAPs, with technical
advice and support from project staff and the KAC. Description Numbers Community External Challenges Things we
of Activities of people contributions contributions experienced would do
implemented benefiting in differently
The CDC should work closely with the KACs to review and (M/F)/ implementing next time
collate monitoring information in the format shown, on the No. of actions
implementation of the CAPs as well as assessing their impact. animals
This information should be submitted to the Woreda PDO who is benefiting
responsible for the collation and compilation of CAP
monitoring data from all the project Kebeles. The project staff
should verify these reports through gathering wider feedback
from community members and completing their own
monitoring forms (see Appendix 1). The compiled CAP reports Once a year, a meeting should be facilitated for all the CDCs
should be made available in the Woreda Documentation with the following government stakeholders: PDO, Woreda
Centre as well as being sent to the Zonal Government. Administration, Woreda Finance and Economic Development
and DAs; in order to reflect, share learning and strengthen the
Accurate financial reports should be reviewed following the CDF planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation and
implementation of a CAP by the project staff. These reports to disseminate good practices.
should be submitted to the CDC, the WEW&DFC and Woreda

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Appendix 1 – Suggested monitoring formats for CCPs and CAPs for project staff

CCP/CRF Implementation Data Collection Format

Kebele Name _______________________ Date_____________________

Staff Member collecting data____________________________

How many people provided this information (M/F)? ___________________ How many are members of the KEW&DMC?________________

Type of hazard Description of intervention Cost of Community Duration of Number of Number of Lessons Learned/ What you
addressed intervention contribution intervention people livestock would do differently in future
benefiting benefiting
(M/F)

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CDF projects data format

Kebele Name ___________________________ Staff Member collecting data__________________________ Date_____________________

How many people provided this information (M/F)? ___________________How many were members of the CDC?________________

Priority addressed Description of project Cost of Community Date of Number of Number of Lessons Learned/ What you
project Contribution completion direct indirect would do differently in future
beneficiaries beneficiaries
(M/F) (M/F)

37